Meet Our Executive Team
David Smith
Dr. David Smith is Professor of Counselling Psychology at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. He conducts research on school-based bullying prevention programs and school climate, and on the links between mental health and bullying. He is particularly interested in the role of student-teacher relationships and their potential to mitigate bullying, as well as helping teachers to build social-emotional capacities in the service of building strong, positive relationships with students using ideas and practices that are based on the ancient wisdom of mindfulness.
Maria Rogers
Dr. Maria Rogers is the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health and Well-being at Carleton University, as well as a registered child and adolescent clinical psychologist in Ontario and Quebec. Her research endeavours to understand how relationships impact the educational and emotional development of children and youth. A core area of Dr. Rogers’ research examines the relational well-being of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its associations with children’s learning. More recently, Dr. Rogers is investigating chronic absenteeism in children and teens, and its associations with family mental health and children’s learning and emotional development.
Natasha McBrearty
Natasha McBrearty (she/her) is a registered psychotherapist and health administrator with over 20 years of experience in community mental health service delivery at Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. A dynamic leader, she drives innovation by empowering teams and fostering strategic partnerships that enhance accessibility, quality, and equity in mental health care. As a Doctoral Candidate in Population Health at the University of Ottawa, her participatory research explores the intersection of chronic school absenteeism and mental health through the voices of youth, families, and health and social service providers.
Jess Whitley
Dr. Jess Whitley is a Professor of Inclusive Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. She is currently serving as Vice-Dean, Research and Professional Development. Jess conducts collaborative research in areas including school attendance and absenteeism, school inclusion/exclusion, mental health literacy, inclusive education policy, teacher preparation for inclusive education and the wellbeing of children and youth with mental health issues. She teaches courses related to these topics at the B.Ed. and graduate level and supervises graduate students studying a range of related areas. All of these efforts have the goal of improving social, emotional and academic outcomes for children and youth.
